Cyprus-Forum.com

[iPel-Support]

Hello everyone,

my name is Lin and I am a Sales Manager with iPelagos. I visited the forum a while back to address an issue that arose with regards to our service a member of the forum brought up and I thought I would come back today to announce a new service we launched about 2 weeks ago. We have been shipping to Cyprus computers, electronics, watches and perfumes since 2005 but over the years we received countless requests for special orders for items we did not carry.

It has always been in our plans to do so and we are finally glad to announce the service is up and running, enjoying already a lot of success. It is understood that the great bulk of their purchases, Cyprus residents make from European retailers but every now and then there is this something that they would like to purchase from the US, whether it'd be because it's not available in the European markets or because it can be purchased at a much lower price from the US. Whatever the reason, the great news is that it's now absolutely possible, easy and cost effective.

The process really is very easy. All one has to do is fill out a form with the links to the products one wishes to purchase. You will get a reply with the exact shipping quote (which you can estimate ahead of time if you happen to know the weight/dimensions) and a link to make the payment. The order is then processed immediately with the third-part retailer, completed, and in no time the package will be on its way to you with a tracking number.

You can find more information here.

If you have any questions about this service, or any other matter, please contact us or email me directly at lin-> iPelagos.com.

Thank you

[CBBB]

Do you also give an indication of the duty payable when the items arrive in Cyprus?

[iPel-Support]

Do you also give an indication of the duty payable when the items arrive in Cyprus?

Hello CBBB,

you are absolutely correct. When one purchases anything from outside the EU, they have to pay VAT upon delivery of the package. Most internet shoppers should be familiar with this by now but nonetheless, for the ones who do not have prior experience in this department, we display it at various places on our website and by no means have we ever tried to hide this to boost our sales.

It's good you brought it up because this gives me the chance to discuss a little what happens: If you are shopping something from Cyprus and the retailer is within the EU, then you are actually being charged VAT on the spot. I think the VAT in Europe is already embedded in the price. This is why you don't have to pay the VAT again when you receive the order. When you purchase something from the US, however, you are exempt from paying the VAT (called sales tax in the US) at the time of the transaction and so you have to pay it when your package arrives in Cyprus.

All the purchases we make on our customers' behalf, however, we take all the necessary steps and file all the paperwork (at a future time so that this causes no delay in the processing of the order) so that we avoid paying the local sales tax which we normally would (as the goods won't be used here domestically) so that our customers don't have to pay the tax twice, first in the US and then in Cyprus.

Certain things, and definitely almost none of the items e have traditionally been selling and every time we would sell something in this category we would let our customer know, carry an additional imports tax so you can salways head over to dutycalculator.com to calculate the exact tax on the item(s) you are looking to purchase.

Thank you,
Lin

[Get Real!]

I don’t understand why they should get you involved. What’s so difficult about making an online purchase from the US?

[kurupetos]

I don’t understand why they should get you involved. What’s so difficult about making an online purchase from the US?

Don't trust him, he's probably a Greek conman.

[dimitrikatchis]

I have tried to contact you several times in this last week. I have left emails both online through your storefront and also emailed you (Lin) direct. I placed an order for almost 1000 dollars over a week ago, i paid extra for delivery via fed ex. I have received neither goods nor an explanation.
I have read all previous posts regarding ipelagos and complaints regarding no communication and no goods / or delivery and service not as promised. Reluctantly after having the same experience i have to add my voice to theirs.
We are a well known company in Cyprus and use computers for our business and were swayed by the better prices and promise of customer satisfaction.
We are currently 1000 dollars out of pocket, with no computer (which is a problem for our business as the order was for a specific project) and not one word from anyone at Ipelagos despite the following statement flashing up on the website.....just to remind everyone what that proud boast is:

" If you have any inquiries or you are unsure about anything at all, please contact us. You can reach us using the e-mail contact form below. We try to reply to all inquiries within 1 hour or less, most of the time within minutes! At iPelagos.com it's all about Customer Service. >Try us!"

I am currently at day 4 of waiting for a response !!

Bad service guys, unreliable and not what your selling.

If i do not get a viable response ...or worse my goods remain missing. I will make it a mission to tell every person we have business dealings with of our experience. We will inform our 1800 facebook followers (covering the whole of Cyprus) of our experience and generally inform the internet shopping public via our internet portals and forums what happened to us.

This is an absolute last resort....Cyprus is a small place, we do not want to cause anyone a problem....but you can't promise goods and services that you don't provide. Please don't bore me with stories about how thousands of your customers are happy and that we are an exception .....You guys must be greek because that is a very Cypriot reaction to customer complaints or issues. Its always the customers fault, or somehow the customer did something wrong. ( i am Cypriot myself so i understand this mentality)

So come on guys....get it together. Send me what i ordered or at least have the common decency to respond to my (many) emails.

Thanks

D Katchis